A first: Baptists, Luter deserve praise

It seems odd to still have to say in 2012 that an African American has become the "first" something.

The Rev. Fred Luter of New Orleans last month became the first African-American president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's largest Protestant religious body.

It's quite a step for one of the nation's more conservative denominations, and it should be another reminder that ability, potential and leadership are not grounded in the color of an individual's skin but in an individual's ability to get the job done.

Formed in 1845 by men who defended slavery as biblical, the SBC in 1995 formally apologized for the role slavery and racism played in its founding.

It takes a lot of strength for an organization so steeped in tradition to admit that it was wrong.

And it also took a lot of strength for Luter to remain with the SBC when his peers were probably telling him there was no future in sticking with the SBC.

Luter's election shows what can happen when people and organizations are willing to push racial perceptions into the background.